Fabricated wood beam



June 30, 1942. F. R. WALKER I .2,288,052

FABRIGATED woon BEAM mhh Filed Aug. 14; 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 30', 1942. F. R. WALKER 1 2,238,052

FABRI CATED WOOD BEAM Filed Aug. 14, 1940 2 sheets-sheet 2 Q M f Q y .Ngw wg ya 50 @y im i? f j Patented June 30, 1942 azac-52 EN? .EPIC

'3 Claims.

templated by my prior patent are applied to theV wood beams on which the studs or uprights of the frame construction of Ythe building are mounted, whereby any shrinkage cf the beam will not affect the walls or partitions, it .being understood that where the studs rest directly on wood beams the shrinking of the `latter'to a more or less extent is indicated by .the sagging of the floors and the frames around window Vand door openings, as Vwell .as .by the appearance of unsightly cracks in the walls and partitions especially at the intersection of the wall and ceiling. In the present instance a fabricated wood beam is provided to support or stabilize the studs .in such manner as to overcome the damaging effects due to shrinkage of the supporting woodrbeams or Vtimbers `ordinarily employed.

The shrinkage of a woodbeam takes place laterally or in the direction across the grain and not longitudinally or -in the .direction of the grain, and in order to support the studs against settling in a manner similar ,to the employment of the metal Vdevice disclosed in my prior paten-t I have provided a particular construction of wood beam to include wood supports intermediate a pair of joists, and in addition to having the grain vof said wood supports run vertically or in line with the studs said supports are secured to the companion joists at orrnear the lower edges of the latter so that the attachment at that point will permit of the usual shrinkage of the joists without affecting Vtheir supporting qualities,

My present invention therefore contemplates a particular construction of fabricated wood beam comprising longitudinal joists with interposed supporting blocks and means for securing the latter to near the lower edges of the supporting joists, as hereinafter fully described and more specifically set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a View illustrating the application of metal supports in accordance with'my prior patent hereinbefore mentioned.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of a fabricated wood beam in accordance with my present invention.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the fabricated wood beam, including the studs mounted thereon and ooring extending over the top of the beam except where necessary'to cut out for wood blocks extending to the top of `the wood floor or suboor.

Fig. 4 is a plan viewshowing .the manner of applying the flooring and including an illustration of the application of the metal supports to a beam cooperating with the wood beam.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the fabricated wood beam and flooring.

Fig. 6 isa similar sectional view to include a section through the wood stud support.

Fig. 7 is a sectional Vview through the wood beam with astud supporting .bottom plate on the supporting blocks.

Eig. 8 is a sectional View illustrating .a modification in respect to the means for securing the stud supporting blocks between the longitudinal members ,of the beam.

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view through the fabricated wood beam, including the modification, .and

Fig. 10 is a detail perspective View of the supporting means shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in the several viewsof the drawings.

The metal supporting device for building construction, heretofore patented by me, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings, comprises an inverted U-shape metal shoe l l the sidemembers of which embrace the joists, and are attached thereto near their lower edges by attaching means, as nails i3, and said attaching means augmented by nails I4 passing through slots l5 in said side members of the metal shoe-- the studsor uprights IB being supported on wood bottom plates l'l resting on the metal shoes. As will 4be understood the metal shoes are employed in .connection with wood joists supported by a metal I-beam i3, .or other .non-shrinkable support, and in which the joists ISB-resting on the I-beam or non-shrinkable support-extend at right angles, as shown in Fig. 4.

In carrying out my invention rthe fabricated wood beam, referred to generally by the reference numeral 2li, is made up of a pair of timbers or joists 2l, 2l, with blocks 22 secured between them at intervals corresponding with the spacing of the studs to be supported thereon in the timbers or joists laterally will take place above said securing means and thereby not affect the studding of the partition supported on said blocks. 'Ihe blocks may be secured in place by nails 23, and for connecting the upper portion of the timbers or joists to the blocks a single nail 24 is employed, but the nails 24 should not interfere with the shrinking of the timbers 2| and consequently wire nails may be used, for after the partition supporting beam is put in place in constructing a floor the braces, 19a, 19a,

usually secured between joists, will hold the timbers closely against the blocks. Although the length of the blocks may correspond with the width of the timbers I prefer to have them eX- tend a slight distance above said timbers, as illustrated in the drawings, so that the projecting upper end will correspond approximately with the thickness of the flooring boards, or subfloor, and in laying the flooring boards, 25, ex-

tend across the beam, being cut out around the c projecting ends of the stud supporting blocks. Where it is desired to leave a space through the wood beam and flooring on a line with one of the spaces between the studs of the partition, to receive electric conduits, water and steam pipes, floor boards are not extended across the wood beam 2B, and of course the space may be extended through two or more floors of the building where the partitions are on a vertical line with each other, thus facilitating the running of pipes and conduits from the basement to the different stories of the building-any desired width of space between the timbers of the partition supporting beam being provided for by employing blocks of the required width. The studs may rest directly on the upper ends of the blocks and be nailed thereto, or a bottom plate may be interposed between the upper ends of the blocks and lower ends of the studs, but in using bottom plates it is desirable to leave uninterrupted spaces between two or more of the stud supporting blocks for the purpose hereinabove stated.

The stability of a partition having the studding rest upon the supporting blocks of a wood beam constructed in accordance with my invention will be readily apparent, for when the studs or uprights of the partition are seated directly on the upper ends of the supporting blocks, or on a bottom plate mounted on said blocks, any shrinkage of the fabricated wood beam vertically will take place only in respect to the longitudinal timbers above the point where the blocks are secured thereto by the nails 23, and as there will be no vertical shrinkage of the blocks the partition resting thereon will maintain its original height in the building to insure a substantal structure that will eliminate the occurrence of sagging floors and cracks around window and door openings or at the juncture of the partition with the ceiling.

In the construction of a building employing my improved fabricated wood beams for supporting partitions, said beams run parallel with the joists, and in nailing the ends of the floor boards to the upper edges of the longitudinal timbers on a line with the outer edges of the blockseither with said blocks projecting slightly or flush with the upper edges of the timbers--the floor will follow the shrinking of the timbers 2| of the partition supporting beam and the joists I9, and the resulting crack below the base-board (not shown) may be taken up by the shoe (not shown) used in connection with the base-board; in other words, the shrinking of the timbers 2| will not result in the settling of the studding of the partition as occurs in those instances where the studding is seated on joists.

In the modification of my invention, illustrated in Figs. 8, 9, and 10, I support the wood blocks 22 between the longitudinal timbers by means of metal brackets 26, each bracket comprising an attaching plate 21 having an outwardly projecting ledge 28-on which the block is seatedwith opposite side flanges 29, 29 adapted to bear against the block at opposite sides thereof to hold it in place, and in this instance, also, the timbers of the wood beam are held against the blocks by means of nails 24, 24 near the upper edges thereof. These brackets are secured to the inner side of the longitudinal timbers 2|, 2| by nails 30, and will support the blocks of the fabricated wood beam in the same way that the nails 23 do, that is, to permit shrinking of the longitudinal timbers without interfering with Y the stability of the studs supported on the blocks.

Other means may be employed to firmly secure the blocks at their lower ends between the longitudinal timbers of the partition supporting beam, the main purpose in the construction of the wood beam being to allow the longitudinal timbers to shrink above the rigid connection of the partition supporting blocks thereto.

The utility of my improved construction of partition supporting beam will be readily understood from the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawings, and it will be apparent that it is adapted to be used in those instances where a partition is to be located parallel with the joists supporting the ooring, whereas in those instances in which the partition is disposed at right angles to the fabricated wood beam and joists, supporting the iloor, the metal shoes disclosed in my prior patent referred to will be used in connection with a joist to which they are attached, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4 of the accompanying drawings. However, as the fabricated wood beam is employed for supporting the studs of partitions in the construction of oors and partitions of buildings it will be apparent that the floor joists need not necessarily run parallel with the fabricated wood beam; that is to say, the arragement of the floor joists may be varied from that disclosed in the drawings, and other obvious modifications resorted to within the spirit and scope of the claims.

I claim: l. A fabricated wood beam for supporting the studs forming the framework of a partition to i overcome the damaging effect coincident to the ,apart between the timbers and rigidly secured thereto at only the lower edges thereof, whereby the vertical position of the supporting members and studs will be unaffected by the shrinkage of the longitudinal timbers laterally or across the grain above the member securing means,

2. A fabricated wood beam for supporting studs forming the framework of a partition to overcome the damaging effect coincident to the shrinking of beams or joists, ysaid partition supporting beam comprising spaced apart timbers with the grain of the Wood running lengthwise, stud supporting wood blocks located between the timbers in spaced apart relation with the grain of the Wood running vertically, said blocks being of such length as to extend from the bottom of the timbers to slightly beyond the upper edges thereof, the projecting portion of the blocks corresponding approximately with the thickness of the flooring to be supported by the fabricated wood beam, and means rigidly securing the blocks to the timbers at only the lower edges thereof, whereby the vertical position of the blocks and studs will be unaifected by the shrinkage of the longitudinal timbers of the beam laterally or across the grain above the means securing the blocks to the timbers.

3. A fabricated wood beam for supporting studs forming the framework of a partition to overcome the damaging eifect coincident to the shrinking of beams o`r joists, said partition supporting beam comprising spaced apart timbers with the grain of the wood running lengthwise, stud supporting wood blocks located between the timbers in spaced apart relation with the grain of the wood running vertically, said blocks being of such length as to extend from the bottom of the timbers to and slightly above the upper edges thereof, the projecting portion of the blocks corresponding approximately with the thickness of the ooring to be supported by the fabricated wood beam, and metal brackets rigidly secured to the inner sides of the longitudinal timbers at the lower edges thereof only for supporting the blocks so that the Vertical position of the blocks and studs will be unaffected by the shrinkage of the longitudinal timbers laterally or across the grain above the means securing the blocks to the timbers.

FRANK R. WALKER. 

